Photo : Benoît Prieur / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval
The Ideal Palace stands at Hauterives, in the Drôme. It is the work of Ferdinand Cheval (1836–1924), a rural postman who for thirty-three years gathered stones on his rounds to build, on his own, an imaginary monument in a garden of about 1,000 m².
The façade mixes references: temples, castles, a mosque, grottoes and stone animals, covered with inscriptions and sculptures in a singular style often linked to naïve art and fantastic architecture. The monument was listed as a historic monument in 1969, by decision of André Malraux. It now belongs to the commune and welcomes about 200,000 visitors a year.
An annexe museum, opened in 2014, presents the life and inspiration of Ferdinand Cheval, with permanent and temporary exhibitions. Allow about an hour and a half for a full visit, offered in French and English.
